Nintendo Switch 2 hardware sales in Japan dropped 87 percent week-on-week after the console’s price increase took effect in the country. According to the latest Famitsu data, the system fell to 31,751 units after a brief buying surge driven by players trying to purchase the console before it became more expensive.

Nintendo Switch 2 sales have fallen sharply in Japan after the console’s price increase came into effect on May 25. Nintendo previously announced that it would raise the price of Nintendo Switch 2 hardware in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan, but while the US, European, and Canadian increases will not be implemented until September 1, Japan has already crossed that line. The Japan-only, region-locked Switch 2 model, available across the country except through Nintendo’s own online store, rose from ¥49,980 to ¥59,980, or roughly from $312 to $374.

The impact was immediate. Famitsu’s previous weekly charts showed Switch 2 selling 214,438 units, 217,922 units, and then 247,880 units across the three weeks before the new price took effect, meaning demand surged ahead of the increase. During the week of May 25 to May 31, however, the console sold only 31,751 units, representing an 87 percent drop. This is not just a normal correction after a temporary spike, either: the latest weekly figure is lower than the system was selling before Nintendo announced the price increase.

The pattern strongly suggests that many buyers simply moved their purchases forward. In the three weeks before Nintendo’s announcement, Switch 2 sold 52,058 units, 44,280 units, and 45,825 units in Japan, so the later 200,000-plus weeks were likely inflated by customers trying to beat the higher price. That makes the new 31,751 figure more awkward. It is not only a collapse from the artificially boosted weeks, but also weaker than the pre-announcement baseline.

The price increase also appears to have affected the original Nintendo Switch model. Across the previous six weeks, the older system sold 3,462, 4,513, 5,080, 7,960, 5,285, and 2,731 units, but last week it managed only 229 units. That was low enough for the Xbox Series X to outsell it in Japan’s hardware chart. At the same time, Switch 2 has already passed 5.8 million lifetime sales in Japan, so the console’s broader success is not in doubt. The question is how much momentum Nintendo can preserve now that the machine costs more.

Japan is now giving a clear early look at how buyers may respond to a sudden hardware price hike. Demand jumped before the increase, then dropped hard immediately after it, and that will make the September 1 increases in the United States, Europe, and Canada worth watching closely. Nintendo has already said it is now focusing solely on Switch 2 development, but the latest Japanese figures show that keeping momentum at a higher price may be a much harder job than simply shifting the entire business toward the new machine.

Source: VGC